ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is the largest pro bono public interest law firm in the country. Founded in 1970, it is dedicated to advancing equal justice under law and addressing economic, racial, social, and other inequities by delivering free legal and social services to the most vulnerable members of our community. Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Rights, the Audrey Irmas Project for Women & Girls’ Rights, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law. 

Public Counsel has a full-time staff of over 130. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, and people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S RIGHTS PROJECT

Public Counsel’s Children’s Rights Project (CRP) serves children, youth, and their families on a variety of legal issues, including probate legal guardianship, public benefits, and adoption, and issues affecting transition age youth. The Transition Age Youth (TAY) team is part of the larger Children’s Rights Project. TAY is an interdisciplinary team of lawyers, social workers, and advocates engaged in the direct representation of young people as it relates to the collateral consequences of having system-involvement. We provide legal services in the areas of housing advocacy, traffic ticket cases, family law services, public benefits advocacy, juvenile record sealing, and name and gender changes. Our social workers help clients participate more meaningfully in the legal case by helping with system navigation; providing advocacy and information; and connecting clients to services that address adjacent social issues and needs. For our many clients who are expecting or parenting, we use a two-generation approach to build family well-being. Our direct representation guides our work at a local and statewide level to challenge and change systems that perpetuate intergenerational system-involvement.

JOB SUMMARY

Under the supervision of the TAY Supervising Senior Attorney, the Temporary TAY Staff Attorney has the following responsibilities: 

• Represent youth in court, in administrative proceedings, and through informal advocacy in the various areas in which we practice (e.g., housing, family law, public benefits, traffic tickets, name and gender change petitions, and sealing juvenile records, etc.)
• Partner with social work team members to ensure youth have access to needed social service supports;
• Engage in community education, develop Know Your Rights materials, and present to youth and partner agencies on a variety of legal issues around the Los Angeles County
• Support the TAY program’s policy reform efforts by participating in workgroups addressing issues affecting our client population; and
• Other duties as assigned.

 ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• California bar membership is preferred, but will accept applications from applicants awaiting bar results; 
• Zero to four years of experience in legal advocacy;
• Experience  working with youth aged 16 to 24 and with individuals of diverse cultural, racial, geographic, or economic backgrounds including individuals with a history of trauma; we will consider volunteer work and externships as gained experience; 
• Experience  in dependency/delinquency court proceedings and/or legal issues affecting youth not required, but strongly preferred;
• Excellent organizational, case management, and analytical skills: ability to be detail-oriented, multi-task, set priorities, and work independently, but in close coordination with other staff;
• Ability to communicate in an empathetic and professional manner with supervisor, team members, and clients;
• Commitment to social justice and the mission of Public Counsel. 

JOB TYPE AND BENEFITS

• Full-time, Non-Exempt position
• Non-Bargaining
• Salary Range: Salary is commensurate with experience and ranges from $65,000 per year for a new attorney to $70,725 per year for an attorney with 4 years of experience. Salary is based on an income scale determined by the attorney’s years practicing law and will be prorated for the length of the position.
• Temporary position – this position will last until May 2023 unless renewed
• Public Counsel offers a competitive benefits package including:
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with both HMO and PPO options, 
• The option to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account, 
• A 403(b) retirement plan with elective contribution and a discretionary employer contribution after a year of employment, and       
• Employer-paid life insurance and disability plans.
• Generous paid time off and compensatory time up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parking and transit benefits

HOW TO APPLY

We value lived experiences and experiences working with clients across a range of settings. Please consider discussing such experiences in your cover letter, especially if they are not reflected in your resume. 

PUBLIC COUNSEL VACCINATION POLICY   AND COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Public Counsel requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees, including   new hires. Pursuant to federal and state laws, Public Counsel will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.

 

Public Counsel is generally office-based, but remote work has been permitted during the pandemic. All employees with Public Counsel are required to work in the office at least one day per week, at the discretion of the head of department. This policy is subject to redesign by leadership. Public Counsel will work in a manner consistent with public health and local and state emergency orders.

PUBLIC COUNSEL EEO POLICY

Public Counsel is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against employees or prospective employees on the basis of union membership or activity, race, religious creed, religious observance, ethnicity, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or predisposition, military service, military and veteran status, pregnancy, child birth and related medical conditions, marital and family status, national origin, ancestry, age, medical conditions as defined by   state or federal law, or disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

All qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

Our leadership team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities discipline, discharge and general treatment during employment.